Psychotherapist/Author

Fields of Mind

Fields of Mind is a depiction of a more progressive approach to depth and structural models of the mind.

Here, we both blend and ultimately transcend Freud’s Unconscious, Pre-conscious, Conscious as well as Id, Ego, Superego in that for Freud there was little to no room for the concept of a transcendent component (Superconscious). For Freud unconscious/conscious was as far as it went, and the superego was mostly the seat of an introjected conscience.

We also encounter, yet still build upon Jung’s influence in this model in that he identified the concept of the “collective unconscious” and did hint at a higher faculty within human beings to access it.

Please note that I chose the use of “subconscious” in this model (as opposed to unconscious) in that we have come to understand that there are multiple layers of consciousness that are not accounted for by three simple divisions. Picture the peeling of an onion, or the experience of looking through multiple settings of a microscope.

Hence, we may consider the layers of consciousness as moving between states of subconsciousness (sleep, hypnosis, meditation) into varying layers of consciousness (awake, perceiving, thinking) and into possible realms of superconsciousness (heightened awareness, intuition, discernment).

Consequently, this model is indeed an integrated one in that it draws from multiple fields of psychology, as well as concepts from philosophy and theology. In this manner we can move beyond limiting paradigms in order to discover and validate deeper and higher constructs.